Mail-sorting case.



W. W. LOTSPEIGH.

MAIL SORTING CASE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 1, 1913 Patented M21123, 1914.

3 BHEETS-SHEBT 1.

l l l 0 l/witnesses W. W. LOTSPEICH.

MAIL SORTING CASE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 1. 1913.

1,088,785. Patented Mar. 3. 1914.

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3 SHEETS-5HBST 2 (Juveutoz W. W. LOTSPEICH MAIL SORTING CASE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 1, 1911! Patented M21113, 1914.

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WILEY w. LOTSPEICH, or ATLANTA, GEORGIA.

MAIL-SORTING CASE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 3, 1914:.

Application filed May 1, 1913. Serial No. 764.904.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILEY \V. LO'ISPEIUH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Atlanta, in the county of Fulton z'mdState of Georgia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mail-Sorting Cases; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertai'ns to make and use the same.

This invention relates to deposit and collection receptacles, and more especially to letter boxes; and the object of the same is to construct a case for use in city postotiices whereby the carrier can sort his mail into routes or streets, or whereby all incoming mail can be sorted in such manner that it is distributed into various boxes for the several carriers.

A further object is to produce a mail sorting case of this kind which is entirely of metal and therefore durable, fire-proof, sanitary, and occu hes the least possible space.

A. still fart er object of the invention is to facilitate the sorting of the mail by reducing the area over which the sorters hand musttravel from the pile being sorted to the mouths of the various chutes.

These and other objects are carried out by constructing the sorting case substantially as hereinafter more fully described and claimed, and as shown in the drawings wherein- Figure 1 is a front elevation and Fig. 2 a rear elevation of the case complete. Fig. 3 is a vertical section through said case. Fig. 4 is an enlarged horizontal section on the line 44 of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a still further enlarged perspective detail of one of the chutes. Fig.6 is an enlarged section on the line 6-6 of Fig. 2. Fig. 7 is a perspective detail of one of the doors.

This device is by preference made entirely of metal so that it willbe durable, sanitary, tire-proof, and will occupy as little space as .ssihle. For the outer members or Walls would use number 18 sheet-iron and for the partitions or chutes I would use number 26 sheet-iron, and the chutes I would make about four and one-halfinches wide if this I device is to be used for sorting letters and small packages. However, any suitable material may be employed, and the dimensions at parts are not essential to the invention,

I may say that thc'case orcahinet is sec soldered to one side of the tional to the extent that it is built u in units which are assembled and connected by transverse tie rods. and each section comprises one partition and one set of chutes artition. Hence the partition at one side 0 one section may constitute one end wall of the cabinet, and a partition without any chute soldered to it may close the open end of the remote unit so as to constitute the other end wall. In any event the end walls follow the contour of the partitions, but as above suggested, I might make them of sheet metal of a difl'erent gage.

The front wall 1 rises from a suitable base 2 to a proper height to be below the mouths of all the chutes, and it may carry brackets 3 to support a shelf 4 on which is laid the mail matter to be distributed. The end walls 5 (which'may be partitions as above suggested) rise from a base alon the floor line to a point at the upper e ge of the.

front wall, and-are then beveled rearwardl as at 6 and rise still farther to the .top which is preferably closed to keep dust out of the cabinet. There is no rear Wall, be-

cause the rear of this cabinet is made up of doors as will be explained. Each unitoomprises a partition and a set of chutes, the partition of the endmost unit being shown in Fig. 1 as the right hand end wall 5, and the partitions of all units being of the same shape as the end walls. Each partition 8 has an upright flange 9 along its front'edge, riveted as at 10 to the front wall, from which the partition projects rearwardly and at right angles thereto. These flanges may all project in one direction, or the flanges in one half the cabinet may project toward the center and those in the other half also toward the center as seen in-Fig. 1. The number of partitions and hence the number of units are not essential to the successful operation of the device, but the size of the cabinet will be proportionate'to the space to be allotted it.

The chutes are made in series, whereof a full set is illustrated in Fig. 3; and .here again considerable latitude will be allowed the manufacturer as to the exact shape and disposition of these chutes and their number in each series. I consider it essential, however, that the inlet end 11 of each chute curve downwardly and rearwardly as best seen in Fig. 5, excepting perhaps the very uppermost chute shown in Fig. 3'-the ob ,vious purpose being. cause mail matter downward at an angle 12, its fiat front face carries a label holder 13 adjacent the mouth of or opening into the chute, and its lower end is formed into an eye 14 for a purpose to appear. At about the mid-length of its body and just forward of its curved inner end 11, the strip bends downward in a sharp angle1-5 so as to form a short upright stretch .16 which will eventually constitute the rear wallet :1 box as yet to be described, and at .the lower edge of thisstretch the material is bent again to the rear in a rather sharp angle 17 and carried onward and preferably slightly downward in another stretch 18;

which forms the bottom of said box. The

rear end of the strip is provided at its cen-. ter with a deep notch or slot 19 and at its;

corners with smaller notches 20, producing between the three notches two fingers 21,

and the fingers are bent downward in sharp angles 22, below which they are extended straight downward for a short distance into feet 23, and the lower ends of the feetiare finally curled to the rear into eyes 24, Such j is the construction ofall the chutes, and in? their dimensions they are. all of the same size from their angles 15 to their rear ends which terminatein the eyes 24,.alt-hough they d'iffer with respect to the length of their curved inner ends 11 as will be seen from Fig. 3, and the angularity given to their upper ends along the line 12. As above stated, one edge of all the chutes in a set is soldered or otherwise secured to one face of a partition, and the units thus built up are assembled side by side as seen in Fig. 2. Tie-rods are now passed completely through the cabinet or case to hold the various units assembled and to assist in securing the chutes to the partitionsespecially those edges of the chutes to the partitions of the next unit to which they of course are not soldered. The uppermost tie-rods 26 are passedthrough the case along the beveled line 6 and engage the eyes 14 at the upper ends of the chutes; the intermediate set of tie-rods 27 pass through the case just under the angles 15 of the chute,

and said angles may be held thereon by any suitable means such as the bracket 28 indi-' cated in Fig. 5; and the lower or rearmost tie rods 29 pass through the eyes 24 of the various chutes, all the rods in this series standing directly over each other in a vertical plane as seen in Fig. 3 I y Thus is. built .up' a sectional cabinet-cross ing whose height depends upon the number of chutes employed. and whose width depends upon the number of units employed in the manner described. Particular attention is called to the disposition of the openings or mouths of the chutes as shown at the upper end of Fig.1, and one feature of the present whereby those routes or streets which are most popular will be indicated as standing at the center of the group, and those rarely used will be indicated as remote from the center, with the result that his hand will travel oftenest to those openings which are nearest the point ofstarting. Each letter, newspaper, or small package deposited in one of these mouths, obviously slips down the curved end 11 of the chute, passes over the shoulder 15, and drops onto the bottom 18 of one of the somewhat larger boxes at the rear end of the case, from which itcollected from time-to time by the carrier or tripper who is to deliver the matter to the addressee. The means for closing said boxes on the rear side of the cabinet also constitutes one feature of this invention. For thisv purpose I make use of a door best seen in detail in Fig. 7. This door is composed of wire bent into a rather long coil or knuckle 30 at the center 'of'its length, then bent upward into fingers 31 at the sides of the knuckle, then carried downward at the outer side of each finger into a shorter coil 32, and terminating at the end of the stretch of wire in a right angular extension 33 having an outwardly projecting tip 36 adapted to enter a hole or eye 35 in the partition as best seen in Fig. 6. One of these doors closes the mouth of each box at the rear of the cabinet, and a set of thesedoors are strung on each rear tie wire 29 as will be clear. When in place the long coil or knuckle 30 stands within the large notch 01'' slot 19 of the bottom plate 18, the smaller coils 32 stand within the corner notches 20 thereof, and all the coils are below the level of the plate 18 because of the upright feet 23 which raise such bottom plate slightly above the rod as seen in'Fig. 5. It is to be understood that the length of the upstanding fingers 31 of each door is suflicient to permit them toreach upward and 'strikethe coils in the door above, and the result is that if the doors are put-in place with the endmost coils U 32 under proper tension,

be to stand closed asindicated-in Fig. 2 and shown in Fig. 6. When new it becomes desirable to withdraw the matter which has accumulated within any box, the carrier or tripper has but to pass his thumb and finger between the two fingers of the door, grasp the bunch of maihand withdraw it. In this action he passes his finger over the rod 29 and the long coil or knuckle 30 thereon, While his thumb passes under the similar part of the door above; and, having grasped the bundle of mail, he has only to draw it forward to remove it from the box, because its forward movement swings the fingers 31 downwardas the spring coils 3 and the long coils 30 permit. Thus it will be seen that the accumulated mail matter can be removed from a box without touching the door thereof, and it is obvious that the spring in the end coils 32 must be of sufiicient strength to prevent the weight of the acciunulated mail matter from automatically opening the door. \Vhile the same idea may be carried out by employing other forms of door and other closing springs, I prefer this door because of its cheapness, lightness, and practicability, and because the operator can look through the door and can reach through it between its fingers; Also I preferfto provide the bottom plate 18 with a deep notch I allel partitions or slot 19 so thatvwhen he reaches for the bundle of mail matter he does'not have to insert his thumb or finger under it and above the plate. The object of theinvention in this respect is to facilitate work as much as possible, even to the operator who withdraws the mail matter from the back of the cabinet, and, a construction has been adopted throughout which will carry out this general end.

What is claimed as new is:

1. The herein described sectional distributing case for mail matter'and the like comprising an upright front wall, uprightparhaving flanges at their -front edges connected with said wall and having their upper ends extended above the wall and their upper front corners beveled ofi', end walls of the same shape as the partitions, a series of chutes secured at one edge to one side of each partition and abutting at the other edge against the contiguous partition or the end wall, the up er ends of all the chutes in a series stan ing adjacent each other along said beveled line and there having transverse eyes, their lower ends standingat the rear of the case and having transverse. eyes disposed in a vertical row, and transverse rods passing through the end walls, the-partitions, and said eyes.

2. The herein described sectional distributing case for mail matter and the like comprising an upright front wall, upright their tendency will I trout edges connected with said well and having their upper ends extended above the wall and their upper front corners beveled ,ofl", end walls of the same shape as the partitions, a series of chutes secured at one edge to one side of each partition and abutting at the other edge against the contiguous partition or the end wall, the upper ends of all the chutes in a series standing adjacent each other along said beveled line and there having transverse eyes, their bodies being curved downward and rearward from said ends and provided with a double angle within their length, their lower ends standing at the rear of the case and having transverse eyes d1sposed in a vertical row, a series of upperrods passing through the end walls, the partitions. and the upper eyes of said chutes, a series of lower rods passing through the walls and partitions and the lower eyes of said chutes, and a third series of rods passing through the walls and the partitions and under the uppermost angles in the body of said chutes.

3. The herein described sectional dis-.

comprising an upright front wall, upright parallel partitions having flanges at their frontcdgcs connected with said wall and having their upper ends extended above the wall and their upper front corners beveled off, end walls ofthe same shape as the partitions, a series of chutes secured at one edge to one side of each partition and abutting at the other edge against the coutiguouspartition or the end wall, the upper ends of all the chutes in a series standing adjacent each other along said beveled line and there hav- 90 tributing case for mail matter and the like ing transverse eyes, their bodies being.

curved downward and rearward from said ends and provided with a double angle within their length, their lower ends standing at the rear of the case and having transverse eyes disposed in a vertical row, a series of upper rods passing through the end walls, the partitions, and the upper eyes of said chutes, a second series of rods passing through the walls and partitions the uppermost angles of the chutes, brackets beneath said angles embracing these rods, a third series of rods passing through the walls and partitions and lowermost eyes of said chutes at the rear of the case, the lower end of each chute bein notched, and a door hung on each rod within such notch, for the,

series of spaced chutes between said walls,

each chute having its rear end formed into a.

box-bottom, and provided at its center with a and under deep notch, the fingers on opposite sides 01 ing transversely through said walls andeyes,

said notch being carried downward and then i turned to the front into eyes; of a rod pass-- rod between the eyes, and means for holding series of spaced chutes between said walls,

box-bottom and provided at its center with a deep notch, the fingers on opposite sides series of'spaced chutes between said walls,

ners, the two fingers between said three notches being carried, downward and then a door havingea coil loosely engaging said the door normally in an upright position.

5. he device of the class described, the combination with two upright walls, and a each chutehaving its rear end formed'into a each chute having its rear end formed into a box-bottom and provided at itscenter with a deep notch and smaller notches at its cor bent into eyes; of-a rod passing transversely through said walls and eyes, a door formed l of a single piece. of wire having a long coil l larger notch, upstanding fingers at opposite sides of this coil, shorter spring-coils outside I said' fingers engaging the rod Within said smaller notches, and angular extensions outside said smaller coils provided with laterally projecting tips engaging said walls for holding the fingers normally upright with yielding force.

I 7. A letter box comprising sheet metal side walls, a sheet metal bottom between said walls having a-deep notch at its centerand smaller notches at its corners, and two eyes between said three notches, a transverse rod passing through said walls and eyes, and a door formed of a single piece of spring wire and including. three coils loosely mounted-on the rod within said three notches, two up standing fingers between the coils adaptedto close the letter box, and lateral extensions at the outer ends of the outermost coils engaging said side walls, for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing, wit

nesses.

- WILEY W. LQTSP-EICH,

Witnesses:

FRANK A. DOUGHMAN, JNO; F. RowLANn. 

